


Find Me

by LemonPop



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Language Barrier, M/M, Modernish Setting, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 04:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10654968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonPop/pseuds/LemonPop
Summary: Set in an Eos without war or Magitek, this is a story about two soulmates trying to make their dreams come true. Prompto, a Niflheim native, and Gladio, who lives in distant Lucis, seek one another out despite the barriers between them.Currently just a one shot, but could possibly be spun off into a small series if the idea won't leave me alone.





	Find Me

**Author's Note:**

> Yesterday I woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I wrote this instead. The idea of the two overcoming a language barrier wouldn't leave me alone, and I might write more of this setting if people like it and I can't get it out of my head. For now, though, I consider it a completed one shot. The style is a little different from my other work, but I think it's cute, anyway. Hope you guys enjoy it! ^.^
> 
> Oh, hey, I'm on Tumblr talking about cute FFXV boys and their butts. You can check it out [here](https://lemonpopwrites.tumblr.com/).

The dream was always the same. He was some place crowded, so much so that he couldn't move, only jostle back and forth. More people would pour in behind him, shoving him forward into the chest of another person. Then a warmth would fill him, and he'd look up to see amber eyes looking back at him. The dream would slow here, even though it felt like he was moving, floating, and all he could do was stare up into that amber. There would be a loud dinging noise, and he would start to panic, because now he was moving away, away from that warmth and those eyes. So he would rip off the bandanna on his right arm and fling it forward even as he was being pulled away, nearly dragged backward in the flow of people. He would cry out two words at the person, words in a foreign language whose meaning was lost to him. They would tumble out of his mouth in desperation anyway, and the man would grab hold of his bandanna just as doors slid shut between them. Then he would awake, usually covered in a cold sweat, with those two words ringing in his head.

_Find me!_

The first time he had his soul bonding dream, he had been excited, bounced around his apartment and made a huge breakfast for himself to celebrate. Everyone usually was ecstatic, after all, when they first dreamed of how they would meet their soulmate. As the dream repeated, he tried to seek out more clues – Where was he? When was this happening? What other details could he learn about the amber-eyed man? But nothing else ever stuck, and he was left feeling more and more frustrated as the years went on, and the dream plagued him without any indication of coming true. Now when he dreamed of the mysterious man clutching his bandanna, he woke up and cried, because normally soul bonding dreams come true after the first year, and it had been three.

~

He dreamed of the blonde again last night. It never changed, even after three agonizing years. He was on the public train, crammed full of people, and as more bodies poured in, a small frame would be pushed against him. The blonde was short and punky, with a tank top and tight-fitting pants, and as their eyes met, he would feel a warmth fill him. They would stare wordlessly at each other, until the train ground to a halt at the next stop, then the blonde was moving away from him, caught in the flow of bodies rushing to exit. The blonde would fumble with the bandanna on his right arm, yank it off, and fling it forward while shouting something. He would catch it, and then two words in some language he didn't know would burst from his lips as the doors slammed shut between them. He always awoke then, sweaty and uncomfortable, desiring something he didn't understand. He could still hear the words rattle in his mind, and wished he knew what the blonde had shouted.

_I will!_

He knew it was a soul bonding dream, and so he began to take the public train as often as possible, despite having access to a car any time he pleased. Three years of riding almost daily had yielded nothing, however, and he grew disheartened. Still, he dreamed of the blonde regularly and could never get that lithe frame out of his mind. So he remained tenacious, believing in his destiny to meet this man, and continued riding the public train.

~

He had worked hard for this, and he had earned it. Looking down at the student visa in his hands, a wide grin plastered itself across his face. This was it! He had been accepted to the University of Lucis, and his paperwork had all gone through, despite Niflheim's overbearing emigration system. He had always dreamed (when not dreaming of amber eyes) of leaving his homeland and seeing the world. Few ever succeeded in departing from Niflheim, but now he would be one of them! After years haunted by those two words, he would be living in their native land. He had dedicated himself to studying the different languages of Eos since those two words were his only real clue where to go to make his dream come true, and had since deduced that Lucis would be his best bet.

_Find me!_

It was said with such desperation every time that he would wake up shaking. He tried to study the Lucian language, but the words and their meanings flew over his head, and Niflheim wasn't exactly encouraging of learning foreign languages or cultures, so there was little in the way of books or tutors that he could secure for himself. So he vowed instead to learn firsthand and spent years working on a portfolio that would secure him a place in Lucis as a photography student. He would leave his friends and family behind to chase a dream, but even as he said good-byes and boarded the cross-country train to Lucis, he could think only of those amber eyes that had plagued him for years.

~

He concluded after considerable research that the language was from Niflheim. He tried every other language in Eos first, thinking it would be nearly impossible for someone from Niflheim to be in Lucis – their laws were so strict! – but trial and error eventually set him on the path to study the distant country. The Nifs were secretive about their culture, but being the prince of Lucis' bodyguard meant he had his connections, and eventually he discovered the meaning of the words in his dream.

_I will!_

It meant he intended to do something, but what? He still didn't know what the blonde shouted at him in the dream, could never hear it over the beating of his own heart, but that was the key to unraveling the whole thing. So he finagled himself a tutor in the Niflheim language – no small feat, considering the only translators were high ranking officials, and slowly began to pick up little words and phrases.

~

He was running late. Insomnia was such a huge and confusing place, and he was running late to his adviser appointment. Fear gripped him as he desperately navigated the public transportation system, knowing even the smallest mistake could lead to his visa being revoked and land him right back in Niflheim for the rest of his life. Luckily, he knew what stop he needed to get to the university, and the train system in Lucis was color coded. The place was swamped with people, though, and he struggled to squeeze into the train car he needed. He felt claustrophobic here. Somehow, despite the sprawling size of Insomnia, he felt crowded and yet alone. No one spoke his language here, and the few phrases he had managed to pick up did him little good in his daily interactions. It was alienating, to say the least.

This adviser meeting was to ascertain his ability to keep up in his classes with his obvious language barrier. If he missed it or if the man decided he wasn't good enough to maintain a high grade average, then he could be sent back to Niflheim. The university had done everything to help him succeed – set him up with a local apartment, assigned a tutor for learning the Lucian tongue, and even entered him into a work-study program so he could pay necessary bills. Still, he was struggling, somehow missing his homeland despite always wishing to leave it. His photography remained exemplary, though, and he hoped that would be enough to carry him through. A good picture broke any language barrier, and he was proud to think that his pictures were great.

He was so caught up in the worries running amok in his mind that he missed the familiarity of the scene. The people jostling him so closely didn't even jolt him out of his thoughts until they reached the next stop, and more people pressed into the train. He was shoved forward and landed against a firm, warm body. He looked up and saw amber. The breath caught in his throat, heat filled him, and the rest of the world and his worries seemed to fog over. They were moving again, and he felt like he was floating as the train glided to their next stop – his stop, the university. The two men stared wordlessly at each other, unable to grasp what was finally happening. There was a loud ding as the train halted and the doors slid open. He panicked then, realizing he had to leave, was being pushed along in the crowd anyway, but did the only thing he knew he could do. His hand flew to the bandanna on his right arm and untied the knot. He flung the piece of cloth out to the other man and shouted “Find me!” as the doors separated them. He could see the man saying something as he gripped the bandanna tightly, but could not hear it. Then the train was gone.

~

He was on his way to the Citadel for another tutor session, and, like an old habit, he hopped on the public train instead of driving. He was a large, muscular man, and these cramped rides were often hell, but he soldiered on anyway. After years of riding, he merely pulled out his phone and tapped away at King's Knight absently, not expecting this, or any other day, to be the one his dream came true. But as more bodies poured into the compartment, a small frame bounced against him and looked up. He looked down, and met eyes with the beautiful blond man. He nearly dropped his phone. He stood gaping, the blonde doing the same, as the train rattled on to its next stop. Then there was a sharp ding as the doors opened, and the warmth of the blonde was fading away from him, pushing back to the exit. He watched in awe as the man reached up and undid the binding on his bandanna – he had seen this moment in his dreams so many times that he had every movement memorized. The blonde flung the piece of cloth out to him, and he rushed forward to snag it. For the first time, he heard that light voice call out to him, and he understood the words.

“Find me!” The man shouted in Lucian.

The doors slid shut, and all he could do was cry back in the Nif tongue, “I will!” He hoped the blonde had heard him, but as the train departed, he thought maybe the moment was over, maybe the blonde hadn't heard, and maybe they would never see each other again.

~

He made it through the adviser appointment only halfway distracted, which was nothing short of a miracle. As he hoped, the strength of his photography pulled him through, and the adviser only requested that he work harder to learn more Lucian and improve his grades in other subjects. It was a long meeting, though, with the two having to pantomime several parts of the conversation in order to communicate beyond what he had managed to learn. He returned to his apartment by nightfall, relieved that he would maintain his visa, but still mostly thinking of those amber eyes. Would his plan work? Would they meet again? He wished he knew the answer. He collapsed on his small couch and fell asleep, and this time, no dream of the train or the amber eyes came to him.

~

He held the bandanna like it was a lifeline. It was, after all, the only concrete thing that connected him to his soulmate. He canceled the appointment with his tutor and returned home, looking over the bandanna in his hands. The fabric was soft, well-worn, and fraying in some edges. It still had its tag, though, and on it read clearly “University of Lucis Bookstore” in tiny print. He didn't doubt that it was the blonde's handwriting. He would go tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, if that's what it took. He was determined to meet this man, to know how he had managed to travel all the way from Niflheim, and to finally learn his name. He fell asleep with the bandanna still grasped in one hand.

~

As soon as his morning class let out, he raced to the campus bookstore. It was a long shot, he thought, but he would continue returning here throughout the day in case the amber-eyed man came looking for him. The store was large, and he began to walk through the racks of books and University of Lucis shirts and souvenirs while scanning the area for his soulmate.

~

He went to the university first thing in the morning, camped outside the bookstore until it opened, and then went in and waited. Two hours passed, and he began to get fidgety. He decided to snag a book from one of the shelves to help pass the time. As he turned a corner in the back, he bumped into another person. About to apologize, he looked down and found himself no longer able to breathe. The blonde was there, looking back up at him with eyes wider and bluer than the sky.

~

They had collided a second time, and now he was unable to do or think anything at all. He just looked up into those beautiful amber eyes and stammered in his best Lucian, “H-hi.”

~

To hear the blonde's voice again was elating. The man had a small accent, but it was endearing. He decided to try out speaking in the Niflheim language, “Hello.”

~

He spoke some Niflheim! It was incredible. He swallowed thickly and put a hand to his chest to introduce himself, “Prompto.”

~

_Prompto_. What a perfect name. He repeated the gesture, placing a hand against his own chest and said simply, “Gladio.”

~

Prompto looked up at Gladio with shining eyes, heart fluttering. He tried out some Lucian as best as he could, “I want to see you.”

Gladio responded in his own attempt at Niflheim, “I want also.”

They stared at each other in awe for several seconds until Prompto reached out a hand in gesture to Gladio. He chewed on his lower lip for a second, searching for the words, then said, “Go with? See the park?”

Gladio smiled and took hold of Prompto's hand in his own. “Yes. I would like.” He said in Prompto's mother tongue.

They held hands as they walked to the park, hearts pounding and questions spinning in their minds, but they didn't say a word. Gladio squeezed Prompto's hand, and Prompto squeezed back. Some things were stronger than words, after all. It had taken years to get to this point, but this was just the beginning for them, and both couldn't have been happier.


End file.
